Activity 3.3.3 – My Plastic Use

Microplastics are all around us, from the food we eat to the clothes we wear. Scientists have been trying to research and study the effects of it. Although the knowledge of microplastics is limited, the information we do have shown it is something worth exploring. Plastic is something everyone uses every single day. Some are just more noticeable than other plastics.

Microplastics are very tiny (less than 5 millimeters) that we can ingest or breathe in. It then can go into our systems without us even knowing. Some examples are Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and Polymethyl methacrylate. Unfortunately, that also means wildlife can be affected by microplastics as well. Like Polyquaterniums, Polysorbates, PEGs and PPGs. (Plastic Soup Foundation, 2019)

 Abby Barrows, a marine research scientist, partnered with adventure scientists collecting data from around the world. Her project concluded 74% of the water samples she received contained microplastics. In this project, she emphasizes that microplastics are one of the wide-ranging pollution problems. (Simons Foundation Science Sandbox Producer 2019) Plastic gets so little because the sun degrades the plastic making it significantly smaller in size. Even if the world chooses to stop using plastic, it will take years for patches in the ocean filled with plastic to be completely gone. (Van Sebille, E. (2013)

Since microplastic is everywhere, it does affect humans and animals. Although we may not know how severely toxic microplastics can be. We do know the majority of species ingest it, including humans. From the bottom of the food chain, like zooplankton. All the way to the top, like marine animals and us. As animals consume microplastics, they can do damage physically, like blockage or chemical impacts. Chemicals can leach out of plastics or from the chemicals in the environment, contaminating the plastic. Making this is a serious issue because it can cause a decrease in reproduction and growth. (Dudas, S. (2018).

There is no clear solution on how to get rid of plastic, but a way to reduce the daily amount we use is a start. It can be small things like alternating plastic straws, cups, and plates with glassware. With a plastic item, there is usually always a better natural option. For example, when plastic straws started to get a lot of negative attention. Due to it harming sea turtles, more people started looking elsewhere. Small companies would sell bamboo straws. Some restaurants banned plastic straws and alternated them with paper ones. Even people started carrying their own glass straws with them. Do plastic straws still exist? Yes, but the point is that people noticed a problem and came up with alternatives. 

Overall, even with limited information about microplastics, it is still good to be aware of the plastic we use. Some are harder to replace, like the clothing we wear, but some are easier, like the dishes we use. The toxicity of microplastics is still under research, but if I had to guess it would be something people would avoid putting in their bodies. Until then, microplastics will continue to be everywhere and a huge part of our daily lives.

References 

Dudas, S. (2018). Microplastics are everywhere [Video]. TEDx Binghampton University. 

Simons Foundation Science Sandbox (Producer). (2019). World class explorers help scientists collect elusive data

Van Sebille, E. (2013). Charting the garbage patches of the seas[video]. University of New South Wales.

Plastic Soup Foundation. (2019). Beat the microbead. https://www.beatthemicrobead.org

This is the plastic I used for the day. My breakfast contained a lot of plastic. The container to the butter, the spinach and cheese I put for my eggs. The spatula itself was also plastic and the plastic plate I ate on. The bread packaging, I use to make toast has plastic. To even the tea I drank was a plastic container. Then after I was finished eating, I was washing dishes then that's when I noticed the dawn soap was plastic. I then washed my hands with soap which is also in a plastic container. After that I was going to put my new sweats on that I got yesterday and saw the tag had polyester. Which is a microplastic and as I was typing this essay, I had my blanket on me which I saw was polyester as well. For my snack I ate a snicker bar with a cherry sparkling water. Both were plastic, and lastly the switch I had on for the fan is plastic. I'm sure I missed something, but it was crazy to actually examine how much myself uses in a day. It made me wonder how much I use in a week average to even a month. Overall, I know now I can reduce it and will be more aware about it.